The present invention relates to products particularly those for use in contact with the human body.
The history of soap and its use in cosmetics dates back many hundreds of years. It has therefore a very long history of safe use. The properties of soap and its manufacture make it very interesting from an environmental perspective. Soaps are salts of fatty acids and can be made from a number of fatty sources. Traditionally soap was made from tallow. Over the last few decades it has been made from vegetable oils in response to a demand for non-animal based products. Soap is a relatively simple material and it can be manufactured locally by cosmetic manufacturers, unlike synthetic detergents whose manufacture is far more complicated and beyond normal manufacturing capabilities. Soap is an alkaline medium. As such it does not require cosmetic preservatives. It is a solid medium so it does not require packaging to contain it. All these considerations make it an exceptional material and its versatility is extremely useful.
Soap and surfactants have been provided in many physical forms. One form previously provided has been as ‘paper’ type sheet. For example cellulose derivatives can be combined with surfactants to form a paper like product. These paper type products have been typically either fragile flakeable materials or thick sheets. However, owing to the constraints of the ingredient materials, ‘paper’ type products which are foldable and pliable have not been prepared.
The present invention seeks to provide a solid cosmetic product which is foldable without snapping and which can be used in the manner of paper, for example as a wrapping material, as well as being a soap product that can be washed with.